Summer Shakespeare Festival

Waiting for Hamlet at GOAT Mcr

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Image credit: Waiting for Hamlet

Reviewer: Elise Gallagher

Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Winner of the Kenneth Branagh New Drama Writing Award, Waiting for Hamlet is a play set in purgatory. King Hamlet and his fool Yorick find themselves ghoulish spectators waiting for a cause.

King Hamlet has arrived freshly murdered by his brother whilst Yorick has occupied the place for over twenty years, keeping watch. Having failed to open the door to both heaven and hell King Hamlet is insistent on going back to the other side, only Yorick isn’t so sure. 

Both Tim Marriott (King Hamlet) and Nicholas Collett (Yorick) give fantastic performances.

Marriott’s King Hamlet is ludicrous and self-centered, likening himself to Christ whilst Collett portrays a wise fool. Throughout the course of the play, you soon wonder whether the jester’s hat is sitting on the wrong head. 

Both Tim Marriott (King Hamlet) and Nicholas Collett (Yorick) give fantastic performances.

The duo are immediately in character upon arrival, providing the perfect match to one another, verbally sparring. Quite like how you might imagine limbo, the stage is bare and sparse with just a small amount of boxes the characters sometimes sit on, exasperated with the other. 

With well over 4,000 lines and around 30,000 words, Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play. However, with a running time of only 50 minutes, this arguable prequel covers a lot of ground. 

David Visick’s script is undoubtedly the star of the show – within such a short space of time the duo’s after-life commentary spans and loops around topics such as politics, religion, nature and hierarchy, sometimes stepping into the realm of poetry. However, it is important to note that a good script can only truly shine with an equal performance. Marriott and Collett rise to the challenge with ease.

David Visick’s script is undoubtedly the star of the show.

It made me smile to think that King Hamlet’s famous speech from beyond the grave actually came from his ex-jester’s mind.

This understated play is a love letter to the bard, a masterclass in how to bring a new dimension into a well-known tale and ultimately, a demonstration of how to find the comedy in one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies.

-Elise Gallagher

The Summer Shakespeare Festival runs at GOAT Mcr (Great Open Air Theatre, Manchester) situated in the amphitheatre at the Great Northern Warehouse, 235 Deansgate until 15 August 2021.

Much Ado About Nothing at The GOAT Mcr

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Image credit: The Cream Faced Loons

Reviewer: Elise Gallagher

Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

One of Shakespeare’s most performed comedies Much Ado About Nothing centres on two very different romantic pairings but rather than told by the bard, The GOAT Manchester have decided to let the city’s watchmen take it upon themselves to tell their tale. 

Led by Dogberry (Sean Henry) and followed obediently by Oatcake (Kyle Fisher) and Seacoal (Abey Bradbury) the performance takes on the vein of a village amateur dramatics society where the fashionably late Friar Francis (Gemma Whiteley) takes charge of the session with an unimpressed Verges (Harry Mace) joining them. 

The company occupies and makes use of all space around them. There are no structural props in the performance space, just a fancy dress rail and costume box. The giddy characters whip around the venue in between audience rows, and even scare a spectating dog.

The giddy characters whip around the venue in between audience rows, and even scare a spectating dog.

The performance is completely over the top, but brilliantly so. A performance highlight was the ghoulish surprise of Don John complete with a plague mask, black cape and clawed plastic hands. His pantomime villain-esque presence and voice – the work of two of the cast – make his limited on-stage presence larger than life. 

The skillful ensemble of 5 actors expertly juggle multiple amounts of physical comedy alongside Shakespearean prose. After a slow start, the performance really gathers pace and sets its own rhythm, complete with acoustic guitar performances and trumpet playing. Bradbury, Henry and Mace demonstrate a masterclass in doubling whilst Fisher punctuates his performances with cartoon-like slapstick. 

A deliciously funny retelling of a Shakespeare classic.

This performance is a pay-what-you-can production and is a part of GOAT Mcr’s Summer Shakespeare Festival, which will be taking place at the Great Northern Warehouse’s Amphitheatre. Unless you are like me where our performance was interrupted by torrential rain. GOAT Mcr quickly got everyone inside into a dry indoor space and kicked off the show – the cast took off again seemingly unbothered by the false start. 

Although Manchester may have not have blessed the company with good weather, come rain or shine this production delivers a deliciously funny retelling of a Shakespeare classic – just don’t forget your raincoat!

-Elise Gallagher

Much Ado About Nothing runs at GOAT Mcr (Great Open Air Theatre, Manchester) situated in the amphitheatre at the Great Northern Warehouse, 235 Deansgate until 15 August 2021. Tickets are sold on a Pay-What-You-Can basis.